Columbia Gas Transm., L.L.C. v. The Ohio Valley Coal Co.

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 1004

Syllabus

The trial court correctly held that under Ohio's Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, defendant, an underground coal mine operator, was liable for subsidence damages to surface structures of plaintiff, a pipeline operator, but the trial court improperly excluded from the measure of damages those pre-mining mitigation expenses incurred to protect the pipeline and avoid catastrophic failure. Preventive measures incurred to reduce damage from anticipated and inevitable tortious conduct are compensable as a matter of judicial and economic effiency.